If you are a Company Commander in the Army National Guard, you will have a full-time AGR Readiness NCO at your armory.  Normally, this Readiness NCO is a senior Staff Sergeant or Sergeant First Class.  In addition to your Readiness NCO, you might also have a Training NCO, Administration NCO and Supply Sergeant.  However, each unit is different.

Your Readiness NCO has a huge responsibility.  In essence, they are your eyes and ears.  Since you are only at the armory a few days each month, you must rely on your Readiness NCO to keep you updated with Soldier issues, armory issues, and higher headquarters suspenses.  Your secret to success is to find a loyal, team player, results-oriented Readiness NCO who will do whatever it takes to help your unit achieve success.

You want a Readiness NCO with the following qualities:

·         Leader

·         Results Oriented

·         Competent

·         Hardworking

·         Disciplined

·         Loyal

·         Honest

·         Detailed

But, before we go into too much detail about the Readiness NCO, let me educate you about the Readiness NCO's duties and responsibilities.  The most significant Readiness NCO duties and responsibilities include: 

·         Pay

·         Schools

·         Promotions

·         Administration

·         Supervise Full Time Staff

·         Resolve Soldier Issues

·         Manage Armory

·         Coordinate and Resource Training Resources

·         Meet Higher HQs suspenses

·         And more!

As you can see, there are lots of different Readiness NCO duties and responsibilities.  In fact, they have an enormous responsibility. Obviously, if you have other AGR personnel on your staff, they will help share the burden.  But in many units, the Readiness NCO does everything.  Even if you have a three or four person support staff, you still need a Readiness NCO who is a go-getter.

Since no Company Commander will succeed all by themselves, it's important to form a good working relationship with your Readiness NCO and AGR staff immediately.

One key to success is to determine priorities. You need to help your Readiness NCO establish priorities for herself and for her subordinates. This can be done with effective counseling and guidance.

Personally, I helped establish priorities for all my AGR staff. For instance, my Readiness NCO's top four priorities were pay, schools, promotions and suspenses. 

Although he didn't necessarily do all these himself, these were the most important issues he focused on. Whenever an issue in any of these four areas arose, he stopped what he was doing and immediately tackled the issue.  This kept him focused and effective.

In addition to counseling, there are other great ways to improve your relationship with your Readiness NCO and full-time staff.  Here are a few examples:

·         Take them out to lunch

·         Write thank you cards

·         Submit your AGR staff for military awards

·         Give them clear guidance

·         Call the armory daily or every other day

·         Always do what you say you will do

·         Support their decisions

·         Give them the authority to make decisions in your absence

·         Take pride in being the Company Commander

·         Enforce the Army standards to everyone in the unit

Most importantly, be involved.  Don’t neglect your Company Commander duties.  In some Army National Guard units, it looks as if the Readiness NCO is the Company Commander.  That’s the wrong answer.

In these cases, the Readiness NCO is acting like the Company Commander because the Company Commander isn't doing his or her job properly.

Believe me, the last things most Readiness NCOs want is to be the Company Commander.  Instead, they want a competent leader to make decisions and give clear guidance so they can do their job.  I encourage you to be that leader.  Sit down with your Readiness NCO and identify goals, objectives and priorities.  Find out what they expect of you and tell them what you expect of them.

It will make life easier for the both of you.

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